Our Constitution

PREAMBLE:

The Catholic Lawyers’ Guild under the patronage of the Archdiocese of Mumbai is a non – profit guild dedicated to function as an effective legal force for the legal representation of the Catholic community within the Archdiocese of Mumbai. The Guild is dedicated to the great martyr St. Thomas More, who is the patron of Lawyers. The primary objective of this Guild is to bring together Catholic Advocates to strengthen and defend the legal structure and legal support system of the Roman Catholic Community.

ARTICLE 1 – NAME AND OBJECTIVES:

Article 1.1 Name of the Organization:
Catholic Lawyers Guild Of The Archdiocese Of Mumbai also briefly referred to as “the Lawyers Guild” or as “CLGM”.

Article 1.2 Objectives of the Organization:

To aid and facilitate Catholic fellowship for fostering the catholic faith in the members;

To promote Catholic values in the administration of law and justice of the state;

To keep the community updated with respect to legislations, precedents and the rule of law;

To participate fully and in a meaningful manner in community related legal activities at the parish level;

To support higher studies in the various legal faculties;

To mentor members in the various legal faculties and practice areas;

To engage in representation for and on behalf of the Catholic Community against any and all forums, authorities, in defence of the practice of the catholic faith, to present the Roman Catholic community’s perspective on issues affecting the Catholic Community and the nation;

To aid in the drafting, representation and adoption of legislations for the economic and social welfare of the people;

To promote ecumenical unity through networking and collaboration with other legal associations;

To form legal aid committees at parish levels;

To form a panel of Mediators, and Conciliators at the parish level to resolve issues by mediation, conciliation;.

ARTICLE 2 – AFFILIATIONS:
In furtherance of its objectives, the Guild shall affiliate or be affiliated with other national or international Roman Catholic Organizations involved in the practice of law, having similar objectives upon mutually decided terms subject to ratification of the Guild at a General Body Meeting.

Article 3 – MEMBERSHIP:
The members of the Guild shall comprise: (a) Ordinary Members; (b) Associate Members; and (c) Honorary Members. Upon application, the following persons who agree with the objectives of the organization as set forth herein shall be admitted to membership:-

Judges, Members nominated from kindred Guilds operating in other countries; or any Catholics whom the Guild desires to honour in a special manner in recognition of their exceptional services to the church. An Honorary member need not be qualified to be an ordinary member and do not vote.

ARTICLE 4 – GENERAL MEETINGS & PROCEDURES:The Bye – laws shall establish procedures for the election of the Council, Amendments to the Constitution of the Guild and other votes taken at the General Meeting based upon the principle that democratic decision-making requires that each ordinary member of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Archdiocese of Mumbai shall have the ability to vote for all matters relating to the conduct, activities and management of the Guild. If any ordinary member does not attend the meeting personally, the vote of that particular member for the relevant meeting shall not be considered. Proxies shall not be allowed to attend on behalf of any ordinary or associate member. The Byelaws shall establish procedures for all matters relating to the conduct, activities and management of the Guild in the manner that best serves the needs of the organization.

The Archbishop of Mumbai will have the power of VETO

ARTICLE 5 – COUNCIL:

The Council of the Guild shall comprise of the following: (i) President; (ii) Vice-President; (iii) Secretary; (iv) Treasurer; and not more than 6 council members, who shall be elected at the AGM. Any vacancies that arise during the course of the year or those positions that are not filled at the AGM may be filled at the nomination of the Council for that specific term only except that the Spiritual Director, who may not have a legal background or a legal qualification but shall be nominated by and be a representative of the Archbishop of Mumbai and as such shall have the position of an honorary member.

The Guild shall operate under the patronage of the Archdiocese of Mumbai. The Archbishop/ Bishop of Mumbai shall have the right to attend meetings of the Guild and the Annual General Meeting of the Guild. The Archbishop of Mumbai has the power of VETO.

The term of office for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Spiritual Director and the 6 council members shall be three years.

ARTICLE 6 – DUTIES OF OFFICE BEARERS:The duties of all council members shall be defined by the byelaws, which shall be passed by resolution of the General body Meeting or Special / Extra – Ordinary General Body Meeting.

ARTICLE 7 – MEETINGS OF COUNCIL:
as provided in the Bye-laws.

ARTICLE 8 – AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION:

The Constitution of the Guild shall not be amended except at an Annual General Meeting of the Guild or a Special/ Extra – Ordinary General Meeting.

Proposed amendments, alterations or additions must be sent in writing to the Secretary, who shall then circulate the same to all members at least four weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting or with a requisition for an Extraordinary General Meeting so that it shall be presented, discussed, decided and voted upon at the following meeting of the Guild prior to being presented to the members.

No Amendments to the constitution shall be considered unless approved by a two-third majority of those present and subject to ratification by the Archbishop of Mumbai.

ARTICLE 9 – FINALITY IN DECISION MAKING:
Disputes shall be resolved amicably in the first instance, failing which by a majority vote of the members at a duly constituted meeting.

ARTICLE 10 – BYE – LAWS MAY BE ADOPTED AND AMENDED:
Bye-laws not inconsistent with the objectives of this Guild and its Constitution may be adopted or amended by a simple majority vote at any meeting of the Guild.

ARTICLE 11 – SAVINGS AND SEVERABILITY:
In the event that any court or authority of competent jurisdiction were to declare null, void, or unenforceable, any provision or provisions of this Constitution and Bye-laws as written or applied, all other unaffected provisions of this Constitution and Bye-laws shall remain in full force and effect.